First blood goes to the cyborg chicken with hooks for hands and a buzzsaw on his chest. In fact the only reason to watch mid-70s stock-footage-churnathons like Godzilla Vs Gigan and Godzilla vs Megalon are the appearances of the M Space Hunter Nebula People’s pet alien kaiju Gigan, the first monster to make Godzilla bleed. The later ‘re-built’ versions was even more vicious, capable of shooting circular saws out of his neck and having chainsaws for arms.

4. MechaGodzilla

First seen in: Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla (1974)

How do you improve on Godzilla? The suspiciously Zaius-like Simian aliens of Black Hole Planet 3 came up with the answer: make a robot one. The animatronic alternatives proved to be a hit with fans, spawning a MechaGodzilla 2, Super MechaGodzilla and even a super-powered Black MechaGodzilla. Even the monster’s arch-nemesis got robotically pimped up, with Mecha-King Ghidorah and Hyper Mecha-King Ghidorah. Obviously all these droids would be crushed beneath the well-heeled feet of MechaStreisand, unless they ask for an autograph.

The cutest thing ever to shower destruction upon a city, the huge, colourful moth uses its bright wings to flap energy waves at its opponents, sending them – and nearby buildings – flying. But Mothra’s just as lethal in larvae form, with a silk surprise that wraps up the wrong ’uns.

Actually a deity worshipped on tropical Infant Island, the moth with the most is summoned to protect humanity, whether from Godzilla or, later, teaming with him to tag-team foes like King Ghidorah or Gigan. Because of its looks and fluffy attitude, the ever-forward thinking collective cinematic body generally regard The Divine Moth as a female – not that anyone’s actually checked what any of these things are packing under the hood.

2. King Ghidorah

First seen in: Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

If two heads are better than one, it’s easy to see why the triple-noggined, two-tailed King Ghidorah lives up to its regal name, reigning supreme as Godzilla’s number one enemy. Usually the instrument of some alien power seeking domination over the planet, the flying dragon – its heads inspired by the eight-headed mythological creature Yamata no Orochi – reduces cities to rubble with its Gravity Beams breathe and is so triple-hard that The God Of Destruction usually has to call in favours from one (or two) of his big mates to help out.

1. Gamera

First seen in: Gamera (1965)

The real hero in a half shell. Quickly bashed out by Toho’s rival studio Daiei, the enormous fanged turtle Gamera was Godzilla’s only real opponent for the hearts and wallets of Japanese high schoolers, the series distinguished through its willingness to splatter the collapsed city streets with the limbs and crimson that Toho tastefully skimped on.

Capable of breathing fire and hibernation-style regeneration, Gamera can also retract his limbs and fire jets out of them, sending him flying into the air like a titanic leathery circular saw. The only soft spots in the raging reptile’s armour are a dislike of the cold and his determination to protect children – part of Daiei’s cinematic landgrab for the youth market.

But Gamera’s claim on the number two spot was cast in adamantium by the damn watchable 1990s reboot – the climactic, limb-impaling, plasma-fisting dust-up of Gamera 3: the Revenge Of Iris (1999) is bloody, badass and very bizarre: basically, everything you’d want from a kaiju movie.